[eric343]

kelly: Ironically, my current amp is either my MG Head or rather low-end ETA42 (well, AD8620. but not even stacked buffers

) - all the good amps got shipped out the door, rather too quickly I'm afraid

On the other hand, not doing much in the way of upgrades means that it's reasonable for me to think and plan to do a KGSS+Sennheiser Orpheus

! (well, combined with the sale of some stuff I've had kicking around for a while, and some savings, and my right kidney...

)

 

[HappymaN]

Smoky: I'll take the META42 off your hands if you get the Blockhead - I'm sure it will gather dust otherwise.

 

[Zanth]

markl: Quote:

That said, I wouldn't "settle" for a Grado-anything in conjunction with any amp with a gun pointed to my head. Grados suck... Period...

Glad to read about the warning after we were derailed...ah the trolling begins.

 

[smokey]

This thread has gotten more interesting than I thought it would. Thanks!

Should I start a new thread entitled, "Blockhead/Senn or Sony R-10/Max?" I suppose the final cost of the Blockhead system would be around $4,500 when you take into account having to buy decent quality balanced interconnects. The cost of a new R-10 and Max would be around $5,000. (I found an inport site that claims they can get ANY Sony electronic product into the US, which lists the R-10 at $3,000.) So the cost isn't too far off.

HappymaN - No you can't have my META! Its mine, mine, mine!!!! No really, in a two sentence review I'd say it sounds very similar to my Sugden, except better. It betters the Sugden in that the bass is tighter and goes deeper. I think Eric has a real future in this business if he wants it, and I want to be able to say someday that I have one of his first real high end efforts. (I'm also hoping that by sucking up early, when he starts selling $10,000 professional surround sound head phone amps he remembers his early customers and cuts us a special price.)

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I am sure r-10 owners will tell you to get a more expensive amp then the max.

Biggie.

 

[eric343]

[reminder: I am not taking orders for amps right now!]
Who knows, I might someday get into the insane-DIY business, the crazy amps are the really fun ones

But personally, I'd go with the R10+Gilmore, once someone gets around to reviewing it; it's designed for low-impedance headphones and can output 0.5W into a 32-ohm load (the Max can output half that at the same load). Not to mention it's an all-discrete design by a fairly competent designer (IIRC he's got 3 advanced degrees and counting).

And that would only come to $3500 plus shipping.